Seattle duo Benjamin Bear’s forthcoming album, Lungs, is a breath of fresh air amidst the city’s notorious grunge scene.Self-described as “stargazer”, their piano-heavy music is simply profound and stunning.
With its use of serene piano harmonies, the first song off of Lungs, “Station Rest Release,” is a heart wrenching and yet beautiful melody about heartbreak. Benjamin Bear continues their use of a subdued piano with a dramatic drum line in “Russ”, a surprisingly uplifting song about psychological recovery.
Contradictory to its name, “I Just Wish This Could All Be Different” combines angst-ridden piano rock and haunting vocals to create the best song on the album. While Benjamin Button is the only Ben people are currently conversing about, talk will change to Benjamin Bear when their first album finally debuts. Hold your breath until Lungs is released on April 21.
I preface this by saying that these are not the greatest pixs as the photographers had to shoot from the soundboard. We were there to support The Academy is who had to open the show. They did an admirable job and I think they made some new fans. Fans certainly seemed to like “About a Girl”.
As I popped the Innerpartysystem’s new cd into my car, I was surprised. Not only did this band live up to all of the online buzz but they shocked me with their sound. Their upbeat edgy-techno-pop is not what I expected though their album cover may suggest otherwise. Though they may have started out small in a town of merely 3000 people, this band landed a record deal with Island Records and is now known nationwide. Their passion for music and their personality just might lead us back to the generations of techno music. As for the question will techno resurface on large scale emerges, the one answer we can give is that IPS is here for the long run.
